The present invention relates to photonics chips and, more specifically, to structures for an electro-optic modulator and methods of fabricating a structure for an electro-optic modulator.
Photonics chips are used in many applications and systems including, but not limited to, data communication systems and data computation systems. A photonics chip integrates optical components, such as waveguides, optical switches, and bends, and electronic components, such as field-effect transistors, into a unified platform. Among other factors, layout area, cost, and operational overhead may be reduced by the integration of both types of components.
A photonics chip may include an electro-optic modulator used as an optical switch to selectively route an incoming optical signal from an input to a destination output without converting the optical signal to an electrical signal. For example, through the modulation, the selective routing can be utilized to convert an arriving continuous optical signal into a departing encoded data stream. Optical switches may be formed, for example, using Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) modulators. A disadvantage of this type of switching is that MZI modulators exhibit a weak electro-optic effect and, for that reason, MZI modulators must have a large form factor that results in a large footprint on the photonics chip. During operation, MZI modulators also tend to consume large amounts of power.
Improved structures for an electro-optic modulator and methods of fabricating a structure for an electro-optic modulator are needed.